Fukushima nuclear plant worker dies of acute leukemia

TOKYO (Kyodo) — A worker in his 40s who had been engaged in recovery work at the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has died of acute leukemia, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday.

Tokyo Electric said the worker’s death is not linked with his work at the plant, citing results of medical examination by doctors.

The man had been exposed to 0.5 millisievert of radiation at the plant and showed no internal exposure to radiation, said the power company, known as TEPCO.

The dosage is much smaller than 5 millisieverts or higher per year — the benchmark for recognizing a death as work-related — TEPCO said, citing the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s criteria on work-related deaths. The ministry’s criteria also put the incubation period to develop symptoms of acute leukemia at one year.